Kpebu disagrees with proposal to extend Presidential term to five years

Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has rejected a proposal to extend Ghana’s presidential term from four to five years, describing it as unacceptable.

Kpebu, who is also a member of the Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) committee, took a firm position against the recommendation put forward by the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC), arguing that altering the length of the presidential tenure could undermine democratic accountability.

In a Facebook post dated December 22, 2025, the lawyer left little room for ambiguity. “Extending the 4-year term to a 5-year term is a NOT NOT,” he wrote, signalling outright opposition to the proposal.

The CRC, however, maintains that the recommendation is rooted in practical governance concerns rather than political expediency.

According to the Committee, the existing four-year term limits the ability of governments to fully design, implement, and evaluate long-term policies before the next election cycle begins.

The recommendation formed part of a broader report presented to President John Dramani Mahama at Jubilee House on Monday, December 22, 2025. The Committee Chairman, Professor Henry Kwasi Prempeh, explained that the proposed extension is intended to improve efficiency in governance while preserving existing constitutional safeguards.

Addressing concerns about possible future attempts to prolong presidential rule, Professor Prempeh stressed that the proposal deliberately avoids any opening for an additional term. “We couldn’t find a place for a third term; there was no demand for it, and nobody seemed to support it, including President Mahama,” he said.

The Committee further observed that a substantial portion of a four-year term is consumed by processes that are not directly related to policy delivery.

Administrative transitions following elections and the build-up to the next polls significantly reduce the effective governing period.

Providing further context, Professor Prempeh noted that time constraints have become a structural challenge under the current arrangement.

“The President spends about six months settling into office and nearly a year campaigning,” he explained, suggesting that barely half of the term is available for uninterrupted governance.

While the CRC sees the five-year proposal as a technical adjustment to strengthen state capacity, critics like Kpebu remain unconvinced. For them, the priority should be enforcing discipline, continuity and accountability within the existing constitutional framework rather than extending tenure.

The proposal is expected to generate intense public debate as discussions on constitutional reforms continue, with divergent views already emerging on whether governance challenges stem from time limitations or broader institutional weaknesses.